JanomeHD1000 Heavy-Duty Sewing Machine with 14 Built-In Stitches

I bought this machine in 2011. I sew flannel quilts, denim bags, plush creatures of decor weight fabric, Leather bags ~ you name it and this machine can handle it. Bring on the thick layers of denim, this Glorious Beast can take it (I use a Janome walking foot and a little plastic tool called a " Jeanamajig" to hem jeans).This machine is CAST METAL and is SOLID. It does not jump around when you sew like my cheap plastic-body sewing machines (I'm talking to you, Brother: never again!) I have had it for 14 years and never had it serviced. It maintains perfect tension (amazing!) and lets me know when it needs to be cleaned and oiled by being noisy(it is a relatively quiet machine but starts to sound like a machine gun when it needs cleaning and oiling). It takes less than 10 minutes from start to finish to service it; remove a few screws and the old needle, remove any lint or thread (using a cotton Q-tip) and add fresh machine oil (also with a Q-Tip) as per the instructions in the manual. Then it is all ready again to make more delightful cozy items for family and friends. I would not hesitate to buy this machine again. My neighbor also bought the very same model at about the same time and sews even more than I. Both of us love our Janome HD1000's! This does not have any of the gimmicky nonsense like fancy stitches, just the ones you need for making new items and hemming or repairing old ones. If you sew anything thick (like quits!) the Janome Walking Foot (sold seperately) is well worth the price and takes the swearing out of quilting.I freemotion quilt and use a darning foot for that task with excellent results (the most reliable thread I have found is the German thread made in Greece called Gutterman). To be a Happy Sewist, invest just a bit in this machine and it will reward you with years of frustration-free sewing, no regrets. This is so well built I will be passing it down to my daughters who also sew (but they can't have it just yet!)

I was torn between this Janome HD1000 and the Singer Heavy Duty. Even though I'm a sewing novice, I personally dislike the new wave of plastic bodied machines. I was using a beautiful robin's egg blue Singer from the '60s or '70s--older than I am!--and it was great until perplexing tension issues began to crop up. I didn't want a slick computerized machine taking its place, so the Singer Heavy Duty immediately caught my eye, due to its 'traditional' looking body as well as exciting features such as a drop-in bobbin and 20 plus stitches, one step buttonhole, etc. However, the lackluster reviews, complaints of a very short lifespan, and overall disintegration of the Singer brand's quality left me wary.The metal body of the Janome is amazing. Sure, it may be heavier, but the overall durability seems greater than any plastic. The bobbin is front loading, which was frightening at first (no 'jam free' guarantee) but it hasn't been a problem at all. The metal casing that holds the bobbin seems very sturdy and made to last. Though the flashiness of a thousand different stitches is alluring, I realistically use only... Two or so for my garment sewing. I haven't touched any other stitches yet, so 14 is more than enough for me. Those who are doing projects that show off stitchwork might want more variety, but again, I think the Janome's offerings are more than adequate for most people.As I said, I'm relatively new to sewing machines (I used to hand sew everything!), but I was able to use the Janome soon after it was unpacked. I had to look up how to load the bobbin, and the inner hand wheel was initially stubborn (I used one of those grippy rubber jar-openers to help--very useful!), and everything flew from there. The automatic needle threader is an amazing luxury; at first, I thought it might not really be necessary, but I absolutely am in love with it. And oddly enough, I received a hard case even though I thought this Janome came with a soft cover (but no complaints here!)I first felt guilty about being unfaithful to my older Singer, but this Janome is quickly becoming an indispensible new friend.EDIT: It's a little over a year later (9/12) and this machine is humming away beautifully. I still use the metal Bernina bobbins, and they work very well. I did have some frustrating issues with getting the bobbin thread picked up, as it seemed to get caught and jam, but I realized that this was due to my own inexperience and stupidity! As I'm sure is common knowledge for everyone else, I only needed to make sure I was bringing the needle all the way back up to its highest position before attempting to pull up the bobbin thread. I only mention this embarrassing incident in case others may have had the same problem, as I had the initial reaction of blaming the machine rather than myself.Anyway, I've sewn quilting-quality cotton to oilcloth and several layers (seriously, like 4-5) of heavy cotton duck (to make a heavy-duty saddle bag for my bike.. it went quite well, considering I pulled the plan from thin air--I'm so proud, haha) and the Janome worked right through them. I occasionally had some difficulty with the layers and layers of folded cotton duck, but that's where the extra high presser foot really came in handy! A sewing machine isn't essential in my life, as I'm a casual, hobby sewer, but I love my Janome like I would an extra arm (and who doesn't need an extra arm sometimes?), though without the self-consciousness an additional appendage would bring.